Assam: Two derailments, one shutdown after Railways ignored safety warning

WARNING OF “catastrophic disaster”, the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) concluded in the middle of 2015 that the Lumding-Silchar broad-gauge link in Assam, a key arterial track in the Northeast, posed a “danger to travelling public”. This was the first red flag. Documents examined by The Indian Express show that at least three other senior Railway officials cited the safety warning to raise objections over the line. But the Railway Ministry opened the line to passenger trains in November that year. Just four months later, the line had to be shut for three months following two back-to-back derailments of passenger trains amid landslides and rainfall there were no casualties. Read More…